Angels get blanked on back-to-back days, swept by Athletics

Making his second start, Roansy Contreras provided limited depth, while another underwhelming day at the plate for the Angels cost them a 5-0 shutout loss at Oakland Coliseum on Thursday afternoon.

Contreras (1-1) started against Oakland on June 26, making them the only team he has started against this season. He was forced to provide Los Angeles with some solid to open the game and did so before a tough third inning. 

He exited after 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits. Command was an issue for the right-hander, who threw 53 pitches (29 strikes), walking three and striking out one.

Runs were again a big struggle for Los Angeles, which left nine runners on base. The lineup contributed four hits and the top of the order struggled to produce quality at-bats again.

The Angels fell to 36-50 and down to 14 games under .500 for the first time this month. They sit 10½ games back in the AL West and are 4½ games ahead of Oakland for fourth place. After sweeping the Athletics in late June, they have returned the favor to even the season series at 3-3. 

Here are three takeaways:

No offensive fireworks

Despite it being July 4, the Angels hitters were not inspired whatsoever. Their continued lack of production extended their scoreless streak to 18 innings. The team finished with four hits, worse than they faced Wednesday night.

The top four hitters in the lineup faded away once more, finishing a combined 1 for 14. Nolan Schanuel was again the only player among the four with a base hit. He finished 1 for 4, extending his hitting streak to a nine games.

The strikeouts came at a much more frequent rate, with Oakland starter JP Sears collecting six of them. It was the first win May 25. The bullpen collected five more strikeouts for 11 overall.

It was a particularly rough day for Jo Adell, who struck out three times out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

The Angels entered their series with the A's having been shut out three times this season. Make that five after the back-to-back shutouts as continue to have issues on both sides of the ball.

Los Angeles has the sixth-least runs per game in the AL, averaging 4.08. Tallying just one hit in the first four innings, the Angels again allowed the A's to jump in front with the early momentum.

Pillar's defense dazzles

Perhaps the lone bright spot of the loss was Kevin Pillar's defense. The center fielder made a pair of spectacular plays that prevented Oakland from winning by an even larger margin.

He struck immediately in the first inning, robbing JJ Bleday of a solo home run and keeping the game scoreless.

Pillar then showed off his speed, using a diving catch to take a hit away from Bleday in the fourth inning.

The 35-year-old is hitting .309 since joining the Angels and has been a key addition to the team. Although he finished 0 for 3, leaving him hitting .284 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.

Conteras' command falters

After a solid pair of innings to open the game, Contreras did not have the same luck in the third. The 24-year-old worked through the first two innings allowing  one hit and walking none.

He opened the third inning by walking Brett Harris and walking JJ Bleday two batters later to put runners on first and second. Oakland scored via an RBI single from Miguel Andujar, who advanced to second on a poor fielding play in left by Taylor Ward.

Two more runners scored in the inning via singles from Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom. It was a productive series for Rooker, who finished with five hits and three RBI across the three games.

Contreras was pulled after a two-out walk to Kyle McCann. He finished with three runs conceded (two earned) and walked three. The bullpen performed decently behind Contreras, allowing two more runs to score across their final 5 1/3 innings. 

In total, the pitching staff finished with nine walks. The amount of free passes allowed simply put too much stress on the staff to work out of jams. 

The Angels will head to Wrigley Field as they begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at 11:20 a.m. Friday. Right-hander Griffin Canning (3-8, 4.71 ERA) will start for Los Angeles against Chicago left-hander Justin Steele (0-3, 3.20). 

The contest will be the Angels' second of four day games in a row. It's the first time they have played four straight day games since June 2010.